> This study notes the response rate is consistently in the
>range of 50% - 51% which would be considered a good response rate for a
>mailed questionnaire, especially one which is somewhat difficult to read
>such as this one.
50% is not a very good repsonse rate, no matter what kind of study.
You want to get a representative sample of the population, a
representative
balance of whatever factors you're looking for - urban and rural,
wealthy,
middle class, and poor, White, Black, Asian, Native American, Latino
etc.,
exclusive breastfeeders, breast and formula, formula, etc. etc. The more
factors you are looking for, the bigger sample you need to be able to say
anything meaningful.
 With a high response rate (say 75-80%) you know that all of the
types of people you are looking for are represented. With a 50% repsonse
rate,
there is no way to know whether the 50% who responded are predominantly
formula feeders and/or middle class and/or white and/or any other factor
that you are measuring.

If, in fact the survey is difficult to read, then you'd want an even
higher response rate, so that you can be assured that most people
understood the questions and meant the same things by the answers that
they gave.


>It amazes me that the Ross Labs Mothers Survey is really the only
>nationwide, longitudinal study of breastfeeding initiation and duration
>rates in the United States.  I strongly believe that these statistics should
>be collected by an impartial third party, not a formula manufacturer.
I agree with that. There are other data out there. Part of the problem
is to have the other data quoted in other articles and research.

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